


Like Jane Austen

by another_maggies



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Gen, except s, imaginary evening where helena spent one single night with s and sarah before moving on to alison, in which everyone is a bit broken, in which helena just wants to be close to someone after camp castor, post camp castor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-08-07 13:08:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7715995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/another_maggies/pseuds/another_maggies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Did you know Jane Austen shared a bed with her sister until she was in her forties?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like Jane Austen

Sarah is building a bed of pillows. Helena is watching.  
  
  
Sarah is clean from all the showers she took. Helena is clean from the bath Mrs. S made her take (Mrs. S wouldn't listen to Helena's views on how to really get clean, she wouldn't accept that Helena already took care of it herself back at the ugly boy camp, even when she showed her (new, good, fresh) Mrs. S would have none of it, and in the end, Helena quite liked it, the bubbles were pretty and it smelled of flowers, she didn't like the part where Mrs. S combed out her hair afterwards, though).  
  
  
Sarah is back in her old clothes. Helena is wearing Sarah's clothes. In the kitchen, Mrs. S is making dinner. It smells good.  
  
  
Sarah is going to sleep on the little platform, in Felix' bed. Helena is going to sleep on the sofa pillow bed. Which she should like. There are seven escape routes (she does not for one moment believe they are safe, just because they tell her it is so, she knows better). The sofa is comfortable (she tested it, she even slept there once before). The kitchen is close. Helena should like to sleep here.  
  
  
Except.  
  
  
She doesn't.

 

 

 

 

Sarah is still fluffing out pillows, arranging blankets, when Helena interrupts her work and says: “Jane Austen slept in one bed with her sister.”  
  
  
Sarah is caught off guard. Given recent experiences this is not something she likes to be. “What?”  
  
  
“Jane Austen slept in one bed with her sister”, Helena repeats.  
  
  
“What do you know of it?”, Sarah says.  
  
  
They don't expect her to know. They don't expect her to know anything. They expect her to look at the telly and ask how the little people got into the box. They expect her to ask, not to say.  
  
  
It's okay. They don't know better. She can only show them. She knows, once she shows Sarah something, Sarah will learn. So, it's okay (although it would be so nice If Sarah just believed in her without proof, if Helena's word was proof enough, if Sarah believed that Helena can know things by herself, if Sarah believed in Helena like Helena believes in Sarah).  
  
  
“I read the book”, Helena explains, keeping her eyes on Sarah, her sestra.  
  
  
Sarah looks like she still doesn't know (she probably doesn't).  
  
  
“Mr. Darcy”, Helena supplies helpfully.  
  
  
“I don't know what that's got to do with it.” Sarah shakes her head and turns back to the bed as If their talk is already over. Helena wishes that Sarah would let her have a say in when their conversations end (she doesn't (she does)).  
  
  
“The book”, Helena says, loudly, so Sarah will hear and know, “Jane Austen wrote this. And in the uh-” Ending? Afterword? Behind the text? “When the story was over there was a text about Jane Austen. And Jane Austen slept in one bed with her sister until she was... old.”  
  
  
“Oh yeah?” Sarah doesn't look up. Moves the same pillow for the hundredth time. She doesn't want to look at Helena. Why, Helena doesn't know. “Good for her.”  
  
  
Helena rolls her eyes and moves in her seat. Sometimes Sarah is very stupid. Well. Not stupid, of course. She couldn't be. But sometimes Sarah doesn't get things (things she should get).  
  
  
“She slept in a bed. With her sister. For forty years.”  
  
  
Sarah nods distractedly. She is paying great attention to where which pillow belongs.  
  
  
“They didn't need a sofa pillow bed.” If Sarah doesn't get it now, Sarah doesn't want to get it.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sarah doesn't say anything to confirm that she has or hasn't understood for a while. Which is okay. Helena knows how to wait. She knows a lot of things. Sarah doesn't say anything. Sarah just stills completely, gaze fixed on a pillow in her hands. And Helena waits.  
  
  
“Felix' bed smells of all kind of shit”, Sarah tells the pillow, when her while has passed. Or gotten to unbearable to hold. Sarah isn't as good at waiting as Helena is. She's no good at all when it comes to waiting, really.  
  
  
“I don't care about smelling shits”, Helena tells Sarah, standing up.  
  
  
“I might have nightmares”, Sarah mutters.  
  
  
“I don't mind, Sarah.” Helena takes the pillow away, takes Sarah's hand (shaky). “Please?”  
  
  
Sarah looks up and her mouth twitches. Mrs. S calls them to dinner, but they stay there, looking at each other. Just looking at each other.  
  
Clean. Healthy. Broken. Back. Safe. Together.  
  
  
“I guess If it's good enough for Jane Austen it's good enough for us.”

**Author's Note:**

> Jane Austen actually did share a bed with her sister for a very long time. The same goes for a lot of her characters (eg: Jane and Lizzy in Pride and Prejudice are sharing a room and a bed).  
> And the word Helena is looking for is appendix.


End file.
